The present application relates generally to an improved data processing and data communication apparatus and method and more specifically to mechanisms for enabling rate adaptive transmission of wireless broadcast packets.
Rate adaptation is a media access controller (MAC) layer mechanism in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks to ensure efficient utilization of wireless channels having constantly varying channel conditions. Rate adaptation modules in wireless communication devices, e.g., laptops, smart phones, tablet computing devices, wireless access points, and the like, are decision logic elements that decide which modulation scheme (defined in the wireless standards) is to be used to transmit data packets in order to maximize the transmission throughput. For example, in IEEE 802.11n standard, a sending device can send data packets to a receiving device from 6.5 to 600 Mbps when unicast mode is chosen, depending on the distance and channel condition between the sending and receiving devices. The sending device is the device that chooses the rate of transmission based on the distance and channel condition.